PointeDuHoc
Why an attack on the Pointe du Hoc ? Situated just between Omaha
Beach and Utah Beach , the Pointe du Hoc dominates the sea of its vertical cliff from 25 to 30 meters high . It is set with a battery : 6 French 155 mm howitzers . It is
necessary to destroy this battery since it represents a threat for two landing beaches ( Omaha and Utah ). This is the mission given to a special American unit , especially created for the occasion , the 2nd R angers Battalion . The Pointe du Hoc was the objective , in the previous days and months the landing , of massive bombardments . The position , at the top of cliff , remains however very difficult to
conquer .
TH E LAN DIN G
H -Hour was scheduled for 0630 on June the 6th . The R angers approached the point with their flotilla of ten landing craft and four DU KW ' s , but the seas were rough and one LCA sank after taking on excessive water . Ten minutes later , a supply craft sank leaving only one survivor . In the confusion and strong tide , they approached the beach near Pointe de la Percée , at over 3 miles east of their objective . Rudder immediately realized his error and headed west toward the point , but not
But , because of the shelling from the U SS Texas and others , earth had piled up at the base of the cliff and the DU KW ' s couldn ' t approach close enough to the cliff to effectively use their ladders . On the other hand , the piling at the base gave the men somewhat cover from enemy fire and also made the height to climb less . After several failed attempts ( due to the weight of soaked ropes ) and due to the assistance of naval artillery ( especially the British destroyer the Talybont ), the R angers finally struggled to the top after incurring only 15 casualties . As men reached the top , they went off in small groups to accomplish their missions .
They reached the gun emplacements only to find that they had been removed and telephone poles had been temporarily installed . Lt . Col . Rudder then split his command into two . One group stayed behind to establish a command posts , while the other went in search of the missing guns . The second group headed south and found the guns in an apple orchard , where they had been removed in order to be saved from the bombardment . They were unguarded and were destroyed with thermite grenades . The primary mission of the R angers had been accomplished .
Up to this point , the German defenders had not yet recovered from their initial